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Grain destined for export stacked on Madras beaches (February 1877) I've started writing a series of posts on photography on World...

Tuesday, 23 May 2017

Kieran Cudlip and the Spectrum of Collaboration

all pictures by Kieran CudlipLast week I had the privilege of hearing Gemma-Rose Turnbull and Pete Brook speak at IC Visual Labs in Bristol. They're both part of the Photography as a Social Practice group. Pete talked about some amazing projects ( see Alyse Emour and the San Quentin Archive for just a couple of truly evocative examples) , while Gemma talked about her own practice and her realisation that collaboration, and a consideration of how images are made and used can make not just for a more thoughtful story - but also for a better story. It was really a beautiful talk filled with passion and humour (she's collaborating now with her four-year-old nephew whose conditions are that the pictures she makes of him end up "in an art gallery).

The picture above shows a rough mapping of the spectrum of the collaborative process by Eliza Gregory, followed by images of some elements to consider in collaboration. You can download a broadsheet of some of the ideas behind collaboration here. These ideas of collaboration are at the forefront of the next Documentary Photography student's final year's work. Kieran Cudlip's project focusses on the life of Elliot. But rather than typecasting Eliot within a traditional visual framework that focus on gender and mental health, Kieran creates a visual mapping of the textures of Elliot's everyday life. It's touching and beautiful but also an abrasive view of what life can be like.This is what Kieran says about the project.

Until the day dawns

This is collaborative work where I, with my experience of
mental illness, am working with Elliot who is experiencing similar everyday
problems connected both with mental and gender dysphoria. The series shows a
world that is both beautiful and terrifying, a place where the hairs of a wig,
the cracked screen of an iphone, the marks of stimming show how the daily life
marks itself into our psyches, but often remains unseen and unnoticed by the
outside world.

"Content Note: image of scars"

Contact Kieran Cudlip here: kieran.cudlip@gmail.com

@kierancudlip on Instagram

https://twitter.com/kierancudlip

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